By eHow Home & Garden Editor
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Scale insects suck the fluids from your plants' leaves and stems, robbing them of essential nutrients. Leaves wither and yellow and may drop from the plant. Indoors, scale insects thrive in the warm, dry environment and may produce up to six new generations on houseplants each year.
Identify scale insects by looking on the undersides of leaves and around leaf joints. Scale-damaged plants look withered and sickly and may have sticky sap or a black fungus on the leaves and stems.
Wash infested plants with a soap/oil mixture if scraping alone doesn't do the job. Mix 1/2 tsp. insecticidal soap, 1/4 tsp. horticultural oil into 1 qt. of warm water. Wash the leaves individually with the soap/oil mixture. Rinse well. There are also numerous chemical products available for the control of mealybugs.
eHow Home & Garden Editor
Comments
susan1024 said
on 4/28/2007 I live in the Caribbean where our houseplants are constantly prone to getting scale. We have several plants in our family room and I have noticed the same type of scale on my scalp over the past year. Is it possible for this scale to travel from plants to humans in a very close environment? Please reply to SCL1024@hotmail.com
Thank you